His Gentle Side
by VanillaCookiesxD
Summary: The other side of him. Amuto.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: yeah...it's just a one-shot. **

It was one of those days where the street was filled with cars trundling and squeaking tires sounding against the wet pavement. The sky was murky and it looked like the sun wasn't going to come out today for sure as drops of water spat onto her pale cheek and pink fluffy hair.

"Aww man," Amu whined, fixating her gaze to the gray clouds above as a blustering wind blew, blowing her skirt sideways as a ripple of goose bumps became visible on her legs.

More fat drops sprinkled from the sky and hit her on the face and soon it began pouring—rain pelted and rushed down to the Earth, soaking her clothes as her pink hair clung onto her face.

She stood there, breathing in the crisp air the rain has brought upon, her hair dripped drops of water and clothes became unbearably disgusting and drenched.

"If you continue standing there like that, you're going to catch a cold," a person with a dry voice said but Amu already knew and didn't have to guess who. It was nonetheless, Ikuto.

She spun on her heel and faced Ikuto who was also drenched, strands of his blue hair dripped drops of water onto the ground and his shoulder and his face was covered with crystal clear streaming water. She wondered how long he had been out in the rain even though she herself hadn't been standing for long; she was already wet as hell.

"Speak for yourself," Amu placed her hands on her hip then swiveled on her heel to start running back home on the slippery surface where puddles of water had formed.

"Stupid Ikuto," she muttered as she ran away from as fast as she could.

Ikuto stood there, watching her disappear from his vision when she suddenly fell forward and splashed into a puddle of dirty water. Ikuto watched the fall with much amusement but had slightly felt worried for her. He couldn't believe that a gasp escaped from his lips and the next thing he knew, his legs were running towards her, cautious and wary of where he was stepping on.

"Ow," Amu winced as she checked her knees which were both scrapped and dirtied by the trip; blood was beginning to trickle down her leg.

Stupid puddle and ground, she thought, slowly rising up back to her feet, unsteadily and just when she was able to stumble again, a pair of strong arms caught her from behind.

She looked up to see who and sure enough, Ikuto held onto her with a crooked smile plastered on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at him and thought, 'Oh the devil!' but then said gratefully and quietly, "Thanks." She pushed him gently in attempt to walk but her knees didn't cooperate, they buckled, but luckily Ikuto had a fast hand and seized her by the wrist before she was about to tumble forth.

Without a word from him, he swooped Amu under the legs and carried her, dashing and sprinting agilely through the dreary and gloomy weather with splashing noises sounding through the streets from his footsteps.

Caught by surprise, she wanted to protest at first by this abrupt action but being as tired and injured as she already is, she kept quiet and snuggled up against his chest, dreaming about who knows what.

He felt something bump his chest and glanced at her. He couldn't help but smile amusingly at the girl, she was indeed an oddball. Soon, he came to a slow as he prepared himself to leap up to his room which was about a few meters off the ground.

Once he reached inside his room, he sat her up against a wall and retrieved some clean clothes as well as a first-aid kit. He opened the box and found some bandages and disinfection napkins.

Gently, he took hold of the napkin and started wiping the scrapped area on her knee. She cringed at the touch of the stinging napkin and wanted to pull area but he held knee firmly in place.

"Hold still," he mumbled as Amu whimpered in pain, he gently dabbed the napkin around the infected area of her wound. The slight touch of his skin brushing against her skin made her heart tingle and her cheeks suddenly started burning. Why did she have to feel like this every time they come to contact?

She threw furtive glances at his peaceful and caring face—his eyes were soft and filled with gentleness that she's never seen in her life. She watched him carefully peel the band aid and place it on top of her wound tenderly that her heart nearly skipped a beat.

"There," he said as he gave a faint smile. She looked at him and quietly thanked him in a sheepish manner, eyes fixated onto her knees.

Shortly after, she sneezed loudly. "Oh crap," Amu swore as she started getting into fits of sneeze.

"Looks like someone is coming down to a cold," Ikuto searched through his closet to see if there was anything for her to wear; he took out a sweater and a pair of shorts.

He threw them at her and said, "You should change." And he closed the room door behind him to let her have some privacy.

She picked the clothing article from the floor and started removing her wet clothing and pulled onto the shorts as she swung the sweater over her head. While changing, she suddenly felt languid and dead tired as if no energy were flowing through her body; her limps felt like heavy logs and her vision blurred. Her head was spinning; her head rocked back and forth as she struggled to maintain conscious. She didn't know what to do anymore and shortly after she collapsed onto the hard, cold floor.

Ikuto heard a thump noise from inside and worrying, he opened the door to find Amu sprawled onto the floor where she was shivering and moaning softly.

Going towards her, he knelt down next to her and felt that she was burning on her forehead; she was definitely coming down to a fever. He carried her up onto his bed and gently laid her there and then quickly scampered downstairs to find some medicine in the cabinet.

As soon as he found some tablets, he fed them to her yet she still didn't seem to look any better.

She was still shivering despite the blanket on top of her. What was he doing wrong?

"That's it," he thought and climbed onto bed next to her, hoping to provide her warmth by cuddling her close to him, under his chin.

"Ikuto," she whispered almost inaudibly into his chest.

"Yes?" he stroked her hair caressingly and inhaled her scent deeply—something sweet and fruity.

"I'm cold," she muffled as she shuddered.

"It's okay, I'm here to warm you up," he pulled her closer to him, as if he were hugging her tightly and looked down at the young girl in his arms.

"Just sleep, all right? I'll be next to you," Ikuto pleaded quietly and snuggled his head against her soft, pink hair.

She smiled faintly against his chest and soon slept soundly.

Ikuto, exhausted and worn-out from the day, also drifted to sleep with Amu in his arms for the whole night…his Amu.


	2. Being there for her

**A/N: Just a short, erm....one-shot I guess? :]**

Amu somehow managed to gather every fiber in her body to confess to Tadase, her crush since elementary school.

She bravely walked up to him and suddenly blurted in a rushed manner, "Tadase! I love you! Please accept this gift from me!" It was a heart-shaped box wrapped nicely in gift wrap paper. (It's not Valentine's Day, just her confession).

Tadase's eyes widen. He didn't know how to react. He was only with shock that Hinamori even had the guts to confess in the first place. His brow creased a frown as his eyebrows did the same, nevertheless, his lips as he said apologetically, "Hinamori! I'm sorry! But I don't feel the same about you!" He shut his eyes and then ran off somewhere, away from her.

Amu stood there, smiling faintly as she dropped her hand with the chocolate box, she whispered, "I knew it was too good to be true."

A stinging pain suddenly bothered her eyes as she fought back the tears of rejection ensuing a gloomy cloud hovering above her head, it started raining in her imaginary world.

She lowered her head to the ground and stood there silently with the gentle breeze blowing her hair softly, barely stroking her delicate skin as her red tie flew away from her.

"I guess my hopes were too high," she sulked and sighed. "I've always thought that Tadase liked me," she choked on her words as stubborn crystal clear drops rolled down her smooth cheek, dripping onto the ground one by one as she blinked.

------------------------

He saw it. He saw all of it—the whole confession from atop a high branch on the tree nearby. He had sympathy for the dejected, strawberry hair girl who was crying her heart out in the lonely cobblestone pathway.

He just had an impulse to embrace her on the spot. His heart lurched forward, his trembling hand involuntarily reached out for her, and before he knew it he mindlessly rushed up to her from behind, giving her quite a scare as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

A pair of sad eyes and frown was plastered on his face. He rested his chin lightly against her shoulder as she dug her face into her hands, weeping softly.

"You saw it all, didn't you?" she cried in between her sobs; he felt her tremble violently.

"Yes," he spoke softly and studied her carefully, watching her continue crying.

"How humiliating…," she uttered, "how I wrongly believed that he liked me back. I'm so stupid!" she screamed in frustration and jerked slightly to the side.

Ikuto listened quietly and attentively, staying with her the entire time as he breathed into her neck.

She sighed heavily, inhaling much air, she said with a shaky voice, "No matter. I'll get over it."

She carefully removed Ikuto's arms and faltered forward in her steps.

"Thanks Ikuto," she smiled faintly. "I guess I'll need to find someone else now."

"Amu," he stretched his arm out to reach for her wrist.

She stopped in her tracks and he whirled her head over to find her eyes washing with glossy coat.

"Don't lie to yourself; you know you're still not over him."

She narrowed her eyes to the floor, clenched a fist and angrily muttered, "He was everything to me Ikuto! Oh…how I wish he hadn't stolen my heart."

He remained quiet and watched the endless tears overflow in her eye.

"No one is going to be there for me anymore. No one; I've always thought it was _him_ but all along I've only been fooling myself," she bawled.

Ikuto lifted her head up, looked at her steadily and used his thumb to caressingly wipe a tear beginning to stream down across her cheek.

"Stop crying Amu," he pleaded quietly. "It pains me to see you in this state."

"I can't help it!" she wailed. "Because now I have nobody!" she buried her face into her hands and began tearing once again.

He pulled her gently into an embrace as she continued muffling her soft cries.

"Don't say that. You have me," he smiled brightly.

She sniffled quietly then asked as she peeled back from him, "Really? You'll always be there for me?" She was hanging onto the last strand of hope left.

"Always," he smiled softly. "Now wipe that frown off your face and smile."

Amu did; not a fake smile but a real one.

"Thank you Ikuto," she hugged onto him tightly, smiling with a new hope.


	3. His feelings

**A/N: Consider this a extremely short entry. Thanks for the reviews from the previous chapter :D.**

His big, warm hand intertwined with her smooth and small one.

She couldn't help, but smile at the thought, and he threw a furtive glance at her, irresistibly unable to hold back the smile that played on his lip.

It was a gift to see her return to her normal state.

"Hey Ikuto," she said, almost inaudibly, but he caught every word.

He turned his attention to her as they came to a stop on a pathway. The sun was nearly setting behind the horizon with the last peek of light shining in the sky; they were heading towards home from their date.

"What am I to you?" her honey eyes flashed sadly into his violet ones and it hurt to see her in such a heart-breaking state. How could she still be in pain? He did everything at his power to create happiness, to make her smile again, that smile which lit up his world where stars were physically dancing in the night sky.

What was she to him? He contemplated for a while, looking anywhere except for her for she made him feel nervous and uneasy at times that he had to put on his teasing mask to conceal and hide from the truth.

Suddenly, the pounding returned to his chest, and he felt his cheeks suffuse as his thoughts pinpointed to only Amu, but a wash of warmth and happiness swam inside him at the same time. She made him feel loved…

"I do?" Amu sounded delighted and had broken into a grin. She cupped his gentle face, another gesture that made him shiver to the core of his spine.

Had he said that last part out loud? He couldn't believe it himself.

Embarrassed about his blunt feelings for her, he quickly tried to recant the statement. "Amu, I…" But she put a finger to his lip. "Don't Ikuto. It's all right, I feel the same when I'm around you," and she pecked his hot cheek. "You know, you should blush more often. You look adorable," she laughed genuinely, which made Ikuto feel like hiding himself, but her laughter was worth the humiliation. Yeah, it was more than enough because she's happy again. Real happy that he was glad.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This one-shot is dedicated to 14AmyChan who motivated me to write something :). I haven't written in a while, so forgive the lack of quality this story has. I know it isn't that great...but enjoy! :D**

"Ugh! I have another F in Algebra. Mom is definitely going to kill me." Amu sighed, walking home with her head down as she braced herself for her mother's lecture.

She reached home a few minutes later with a frown plastered on her lips.

"Mom…" she started quietly.

"She's not home. She went out to shop." Ikuto poked his head through the doorway from the kitchen.

Amu bounced back and said defensively as she pointed her finger at him. "Who let you in here?"

"Your window," he shrugged and leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed. "So what's the blue face about? Did you miss me?" He looked at her intently.

A flush crawled onto her face, and she quickly turned her head away, uttering hastily, "Of course not! I've got other things to be sad about than missing the likes of _you_." She slipped off her shoes and stalked past him in frustration.

Ikuto eyed at the paper in her hand and then averted his gaze back to the pink hair girl. "So that's what is bothering her." He observed.

XXXXX

Amu slammed the door behind her and threw herself on bed and hugged her heart pillow.

"What's my excuse this time…" she said distressfully, "I didn't study because I was too busy with friends, and I was too distracted by my cell phone." She buried her face into her pillow and repeatedly hit her bed with her fist.

"Why don't you just show her you know how to do it," Ikuto's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"What? I don't…" she stopped her movements. "Hey! How did you even get in here?" she removed her face from the pillow and straightened herself in bed; an angry expression etched on her face.

"Door's unlocked. I couldn't help myself," he simply responded.

She let out an exasperated groan. "Leave me alone," she dug her head between her knees. "I will figure this out myself, or maybe I should just accept the punishment from my mom."

He approached her quietly and whispered closely to her ear, "How could I be so heartless? How about we fix that problem of yours by doing what I suggested, and then I'll go?"

She cringed at the touch of his breath on her ears, but she didn't respond. Instead she just elbowed him on the chest.

He feigned hurt and knelt down beside her bed, looking up at her with a smirk. "You know you want to be tutored by me."

XXXXX

"All right mom! Next time I promise I will do better! Thank you for understanding though!" She shouted and ran upstairs with a smile frozen on her face.

She opened her bedroom door to see Ikuto skimming through a magazine. "Seems like good news to you by the look on your face."

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Or maybe I just got lucky today."

"Either way," he put down the magazine. "I want a payment in some form."

Amu blushed, unsure of what to do. "You what? Well, I can buy you some food." She offered.

"No, I want something else." He stared at her dreamily.

"I'm not giving anything else," she shrugged, walking towards her bed. "Now, if you would please move, I would like to sleep."

"How about you lend me some of that warmth?" He suggested bluntly.

"No!" she immediately rejected. "I rather sleep with the bugs on the floor than with you. Anyway, if you're not going to move, I will just be sleeping on the floor. Good night."

"Geez, you're surely a kind person." He pouted.

XXXX

She woke up the next morning on her comfortable bed; her eyes peeled open to see a blue hair boy. _Blue-hair. _She thought, and her eyes widened.

"I knew you were resisting last night." He teased.

"Wait! This has got to be a mistake." She said quickly. "I don't…I didn't climb back up to bed."

"Sure you did, I saw you." Ikuto responded.

"No…" she was out of reasons. "Fine, believe what you want to believe, but I didn't do it intentionally." She rolled out of bed and walked out of the room.

He sighed and said, "Well, aren't you a gullible one."

**Some reviews would be nice, don't you think? :3**


	5. Chapter 5

**A?N: Another update! At last! I know I've been slow...but forgive me, will ya? :D Ok, I will stop talking. Go on, read this cheesy chapter :)**

Amu was spending some time with her friends late in the afternoon at the park. She and her friends were swinging vigorously.

"Let's see who can go higher," Tadase challenged; a grin crossed his face.

"You're on!" Yaya shouted. Amu's face broke into a smile as she watched the two compete against each other, and then her phone suddenly started ringing.

She fished out her phone from her jacket pocket and viewed the screen to see her mother was calling.

"Hello?" she picked up.

"Amu?" Her mom immediately responded; she sounded worried.

"Yeah? Did something happen?" Amu answered.

"Honey," her mother said on the other end, in a sad and regretful tone. "Daddy and I won't be home tonight. We have work business to do. So you can just eat leftovers from the fridge."

"Oh…" Amu thought. It was unusual that they would have an extremely work schedule, but it happens, she supposed. "All right," she added quickly. "Thanks for telling me mom. I will see you tomorrow then?"

"Definitely. Well, I have to go, be safe sweetheart."

"Bye mom," Amu shut her phone and looked up to see her friends were watching her.

"Did something come up?" Tadase asked.

Amu nodded. "It's not a big deal. I'm just going to be home alone for the rest of the day, that's all."

"Oh! You can sleepover at my place!" Yaya offered excitedly, jumping out of the swing.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Amu rejected politely. "I've got some things to do at home."

XXXXX

She slowly approached home as the last peek of sun sunk behind the horizon. Tomorrow is going to be Saturday…that would mean a busy schedule for her.

Amu inserted her house keys into the door knob and opened the door. She slipped inside, took off her shoes, and rushed towards the stairs but on her way to the stairs, she spotted a dim light illuminating from the kitchen.

Where is that light coming from? She thought to herself and decided to investigate.

"Who's here?" she poked her head into the kitchen doorway, and subsequently, a crash of pots and pans sounded.

Startled, Amu flicked on the lights to find Ikuto rubbing his head. "Talk about being stealthy…I didn't even hear you walk through the front door."

"Heh," she uttered, picking up the pots and pans from the ground and placing them onto the counter.

"Exactly, may I ask, what are you doing here? At my house too?" She planted one hand on her hip and stretched out the other hand to Ikuto to help him up.

Ikuto grabbed her extended arm and pulled her down to a hug. He evaded the question. "You're so warm," he squeezed her tightly.

"Yeah…the kitchen is usually cold," she commented, but her heart raced a thousand miles, and she was close enough to hear his thumping heart. She blushed at the thought of their physical closeness and allowed her eyes to roam around the kitchen, and that's when she noticed the decorative dinner table off in the corner. A white cloth covered the table, and there were pink candles sitting on opposite ends of the squared table, not to mention the empty vase in the center of the table. There were empty plates set out as well.

"Ikuto…were you making dinner?" she said quietly, in slight shock.

"It looks like my plans have been ruined," Ikuto sighed and pulled Amu up with him from the floor.

He scratched his head and returned his attention to the oven. "Even though the surprise has been already spoiled Amu, if you don't mind, please have a seat."

Amu faltered in her speech, but eventually agreed. She awkwardly took in her seat.

She stared out the window and couldn't help feeling the uneasy atmosphere.

"Here, I fixed up a lemonade for you. Freshly squeezed, so feel special," he settled down a tall glass before her, and she expressed her gratitude.

She took a sip of her lemonade and was surprised at how good it tasted. "Your lemonade is really good," she complimented.

"Of course, I made it," he said conceitedly.

Amu swiveled her head slightly and eyed at Ikuto secretly, watching him cook. He wouldn't make a bad "housewife". She chuckled at the thought of it.

"What's so funny?" he stole a suspicious glance at her and flipped the steak as he was mixing salad in the bowl on the counter beside the oven.

"Nothing," she kept smiling to herself.

XXXXX

Amu put the last piece of steak into her mouth and chewed it slowly. She liked everything about it and wished she could enjoy another, but her stomach protested in fullness.

"Thanks for dinner," she wiped her mouth.

"Do you want dessert? I made sago," he directed the pot that contained the sago.

"No, I'm fine," she said.

He sighed and stared at her, "I go through so much trouble to make you something to eat, yet you refuse to eat it."

"Sorry," she apologized, now feeling guilty that she hadn't taken his dessert to eat. "But why did you make yourself go through this trouble? How did you know my parents weren't even going to be home?"

"I actually told your parents to take the night off and go somewhere to have fun, so that I could have the honor to make you a special dinner, and that's just to express my appreciation for you," he settled down his fork and picked up his glass to drink.

"Oh…wow," Amu said, unsure of what to say. "And here I thought they were really busy with work."

"Nope…it was all my doing, and here," he presented a box to her. "I want you to have this."

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know. Why don't you open it?" he sat back in his seat.

She did and found that it was a hair accessory – a pink clip with a red heart on it. Her face glowed.

"Here, let me help you put it on," he came around the table and took the clip from her palm

She felt light headed from the soft touch of his, but she was extremely happy at the same time.

"Thank you," she threw her arms around him, and he gasped in surprise. "I'm serious…I loved everything about tonight."

He smiled softly. "Well, I expect you to do it fifty times better for me."

"What?" she pouted.

"I demand a fancy place with expensive utensils and food…and some luxurious decorations and a very nice gift from you."

"Gah, you keep imagining because I'd rather fix you something else," she rolled her eyes.

"What's that? You're really planning me a fancy night?" Ikuto smirked, cupping his ear.

"No!" she protested. "You know what, I'm just going to wash the dishes. Talking to you wastes both my breath and energy." She went over to the table and started gathering the dishes.

"But we didn't even eat dessert yet." Ikuto pointed out.

"Well, I'm not hungry. How about I feed you dessert?" Amu said.

"That sounds like a great idea."

**Thank you for reading! 3 How about reviewing? I don't mind any comments :].**


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